Sir Henry Cole
(1808-1882), Civil servantEarly Victorian Portraits Catalogue Entry
Sitter in 5 portraits
At fifteen he began work at the Public Record Office. He became assistant keeper and helped reform the organisation and preservation of the British national archives. Interested in industrial design, he designed and produced a number of items under the pseudonym Felix Summerly, including a prize-winning teapot made by Minton. In 1848, Cole proposed a Great Exhibition. It opened in 1851 and was a resounding triumph, featuring 'art applied to industry'. In 1852, the Board of Trade set up a Department of Practical Art with Cole as secretary; in this capacity he formed the nucleus of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Explore the portrait of Sir Henry Cole by Sir Joseph Boehm (NPG 865) from all angles
by Samuel Laurence
chalk, 1865
NPG 1698
by Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm, 1st Bt
plaster cast of bust, 1875
NPG 865
by Lock & Whitfield, published by Sampson Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington
woodburytype, published 1877
NPG Ax17532
by Lock & Whitfield
woodburytype on paper mount, 1877 or before
NPG x6305
Sir Henry Cole ('Men of the Day, No. 29.')
by James Jacques Joseph Tissot
chromolithograph, published in Vanity Fair 19 August 1871
NPG D43497
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Selina Ogilvy
07 February 2021, 18:37
He’s my Great great great grandfather and I’m very proud of his achievements